As has been said, much of the acceptability of an outfit is determined by the environment. Holdfast is a 30-40 yr old doctor (I think...) in Britain, and knowing that makes his clothing seem much more relevant and acceptable. For his "environment," he is dressed in a very nice casual manor.

I, on the other hand, am an American university student with various part-time jobs as a pianist - although I'm not majoring in music. I wore this to church (with the jacket cuffs in a respectable position), and to go to lunch with some friends in a trendy, affluent part of town. Most of my friends don't care about style as much as I do, but they all have some concept of "dressing up" on Sunday. Some of them actually do look very fashionable/stylish/trendy/whatever on Sundays, and I wouldn't want to be outdone. With regards to my environment and situation, I fit in fairly well. My own style preferences are probably too GQ most of the time to please the forum, but it works in my situation.

Now, the jacket is a little too tight, but I'm on a budget and got the best that I could. The pants aren't actually bell-bottom, even if that's how they look. They are slim-fitting, but not skin-tight. Yes, there are problems with my clothing - I know I have a long way to go (I should probably skip the square next time, for instance). Just trying to show that my environment is different from Holdfast's.

I get that; I wasn't trying to be overly judgemental/negative about your choices. Sorry if it came off that way. I just trying to parse what james was noticing and why it created a different effect in his eyes. I'm certain you know your own enviroment far better than I, and can judge whether your clothes work well enough within that environment.

As has been said, much of the acceptability of an outfit is determined by the environment. ...

I... am an American university student with various part-time jobs as a pianist... I wore this to church ...they all have some concept of "dressing up" on Sunday.

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Interesting, you were dressing up, dressing up for church. I didn't have that in my "this thread is non-business" world view, but it belongs there. Perhaps you should give a bit of context for your outfits. Either that or we cast the "dressing up" outfits out to MC proper.

As for lack of funds- yeah, sorry, thats life. Do what you can with the funds you have. But you post the fits here, you have to expect the feedback, right? And that one wasn't very good.

Well, that someone could actually be most people out there. I mean, even though here in SF we bust each other balls telling one another that we don´t know shit about style or fashion, the fact is that we know a hell of a lot more than the majority of people on the streets. A person could see someone as Fuuma and think he put a lot of thought into his outfit and think, but the same thing goes for someone wearing a three piece suit, cufflinks and a pocket square. Some might think: "what the hell is this dude wearing?" But WE wouldn´t. I see someone like spoo or upr_crust and, for me, they look amazing. Upr in particular is my favorite poster in MC. I wish one day I could own at least 1/3 of his wardrobe, and wear my clothes as rakishly as he does. He looks awesome in his DB jackets or three-piece suits. But I know if I dressed like that everyday, people might look at me funny. Hell, I put on a blazer and shirt and suddenly to people I´m all dressed up.

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this is funny. Where I live, If I put on jeans or chinos with shoes (non sneakers or flip flops) and a decent shirt, then I'm all dress up.

I went to a classical music concert the other day and I saw a few guys in flip flops swear to god

this is funny. Where I live, If I put on jeans or chinos with shoes (non sneakers or flip flops) and a decent shirt, then I'm all dress up.
I went to a classical music concert the other day and I saw a few guys in flip flops swear to god

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Dude!!! I experienced the same atrocity last month. I couldn't believe the casual paraphanlia that made it into the theater.

You're misunderstanding me. When someone sees Fuuma, in his ridiculous high top shoes, tight pants and graphic tee, and hair that looks unkempt (but actually took him a long time to do) they see a try-hard douchebag. They can tell that he puts a ton of thought into how he presents himself and that he has some kind of artsy explanation for his presentation.

Contrast that with yourself, from your clothing I get the feeling you're a reasonable, rational guy. Normal. Feel free to correct me if you're actually nuts...

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I've met both Fuuma and Parker. They are actually both pretty stylish. They were also wearing pretty similar outfits as well (on different occasions). Maybe Parker was channeling Fuuma, or maybe Parker was channeling Fuuma. Actually, they are similar builds as well (Parker is slightly bigger, but around the same). Maybe they are related.

I've met both Fuuma and Parker. They are actually both pretty stylish. They were also wearing pretty similar outfits as well (on different occasions). Maybe Parker was channeling Fuuma, or maybe Parker was channeling Fuuma. Actually, they are similar builds as well (Parker is slightly bigger, but around the same). Maybe they are related.